This invention relates in general to a transportation system and in particular to a mass transportation system. More particularly, this invention relates to a mass transportation system in conjunction with a highway. This invention also relates to a transportation vehicle. In addition, this invention relates to a method for transporting goods or people.
As the population increases, there arises an ever greater demand for faster and more efficient mass transportation between the urban centers. Much creative effort has been expended to develop such improved mass transit systems. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,353,498 to Davis, 3,580,181 to Bertin et al., 3,774,542 to Walsh, and 3,799,061 to Bertin, 3,910,196 to Denenburg all disclose elevated mass transportation systems in which a passenger vehicle is suspended from an overhead rail or track. Walsh, in particular, discloses a mass transit line which is disposed above the median strip of a multiple lane highway. Other mass transportation systems involve so-called ground effect vehicles which ride on a cushion or layer of air. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,621,787 to Giraud, 3,601,062 to Bertin, and 3,648,620 to Bertin et al. These two features of an elevated railway and an air cushion support are combined in the teachings of U.S. Pat. No. 4,061,089 to Sawyer.
The major problem in attempting to build new mass transit lines between the ever growing cities is that the land between the cities is already occupied by suburban sprawl. The major costs in developing new mass transit lines are not construction costs, which presently average between $1 million and $6 million per mile, but rather the costs of the rights of way, which in a city may cost as much as $30 million to $80 million.